Preface

Pleasant engagement of people with their surroundings is a prerequisite of
an attractive city.Whether it is the elegant quality of London, the romantic
atmosphere of Paris, or the sense of fashion of Tokyo, every distinctive city
has its own special attributes that attract people and businesses from all over
the world.

Taipei is a city some hundred years old, and a century is a long time, in human
terms. When compared to other cities, however, Taipei is seen to be young and
dynamic, with inexhaustible energy and boundless potential.

Taipei’s past is a chronicle of outstanding achievements. They are a distinctive
record of the hard work of generations of municipal authorities and citizens,
who are rightly proud of their splendid history.Today, Taipei lays claim to
the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101, and the world’s largest comprehensive
wireless network. The city is known too for elite talent in the social sciences
and high technology. And last, but not least, Taipei is home to a dazzling array
of cultures and the place that has best preserved the traditional art of Chinese
culture.

Now, in this new era of global competition, Taipei must build on its unique
qualities and fully utilize all its resources to assure its future. To that
end, I have proposed ten practical strategies for improving this city. They
include new approaches to security, education, traffic, culture, environmental
protection, urban development, government effectiveness, and internationalization.

Some of these strategies have already been implemented, to great effect. For
example, in a project to revitalize the Tamsui River, we formed a committee
to ensure that besides simply dredging the waterway, the city also considered
issues like beautifying the environment, improving water quality, arranging
riverfront views, and renovating the surrounding city. Moreover, revitalizing
the river is only the beginning of a broader effort to highlight local geography
and culture and renovate the entire west side of Taipei. Ultimately, the city
will transform not only its appearance, but also its character, embracing environmental
protection and healthy governance.

Furthermore, because the health of a city depends on the health and well-being
of its residents,health policies are critical to making Taipei more livable.
Today, the city’s attention is focused on the services needed by the increasing
number of seniors, recent immigrants, and members of disadvantaged cultures,
and on issues such as environmental protection, public health, and security.
More specifically,we need a long-term community service network; low-chassis
buses, to make our bus system barrier-free;policies to assist indigenous people
and new immigrants, and to preserve Hakka culture; and new databases of criminal
records and coordinated public monitoring systems, to make our city safer.

I have been the mayor of Taipei for half a year now, and I am well aware that
when it comes to improving this city, there are potentially thousands of tasks
we might undertake. The demands of developing Taipei may seem at times overwhelming,
but I trust that thanks to the combined efforts of the city government and all
the city’s residents, our prospects are bright indeed.